Peter Thiel Turns Away From Ethereum Treasury Strategy

The crypto bet “Ethereum on the Stock Market” has just lost its loudest sponsor. Peter Thiel and entities linked to Founders Fund have sold their entire stake in ETHZilla, according to a 13G filing with the SEC.

Thiel exits, the market decides

Thiel is no longer part of the capital. And the market did not wait for a well-crafted press release to react. In pre-market, the ETHZilla stock dropped about 7%, around $3.20. This level is significant. It shows how quickly the story burned out, to the point that Vitalik himself called to avoid excesses. The stock had risen above $107 in August before falling sharply back to the $3 range.

In this kind of case, psychology matters as much as the financial statements. When the star investor exits, the market rarely reads “taking profits.” It rather reads “the story is changing hands.” And that, in crypto, can be enough to trigger a sell-off.

ETHZilla was not born a crypto company. The company was called 180 Life Sciences and pivoted, rebranded, with a new ticker and an assumed Ethereum treasury strategy. In August 2025, the scene was almost perfect. The company announced an official Ethereum strategy and a total fundraising of about $565 million, presented as fuel for massive accumulation.

The problem is that the typical MicroStrategy “playbook” works when the narrative remains consistent over quarters. Here, the trajectory was bumpy. The stock lived on the announcement effect, then on the reality of a listed vehicle exposed to volatility, financing, and limited market patience.

From an ETH crypto reserve to defensive sales

The most revealing shift is not Thiel’s exit. It is what preceded it. Since October, ETHZilla has reduced its ether holdings through several sales, instead of accumulating.

In October, the company sold about $40 million worth of ETH to support a share buyback plan authorized by the board. On paper, this is “pro-shareholders.” In the narrative, it is mainly an admission: the stock needs to be defended.

Then in December, ETHZilla sold 24,291 ETH (about $74.5 million) to repay secured convertible bonds. When a crypto treasury is used to put out financial fires, the message is clear: the priority is no longer accumulation but survival.

The latest pivot: tokenizing “real” assets to piece things back together

After the phase “we accumulate ETH crypto”, ETHZilla now highlights the tokenization of real assets. In February 2026, the company announced the purchase of a portfolio of 95 real estate loans (manufactured and modular homes) for about $4.7 million, with a planned tokenization on an Ethereum Layer 2.

The yield shown, around 10.36% annualized, is attractive on a slide. But it is a change in nature. We move from a vehicle with “direct ETH exposure” to a company that must execute, structure, distribute, and convince on tokenized products. This is no longer the same business.

Meanwhile, the company remains a heavyweight in corporate ether treasuries, with about 69,802 ETH according to specialized trackers. In other words, it remains fully exposed to crypto… but tries to build a narrative less attached solely to the ETH price. And Thiel’s exit comes at the worst time: precisely when this new story needs time to convince, while crypto market sentiment hits a critical point.